Ghislaine Maxwell ‘trafficked teenagers for $US30m’

Ghislaine Maxwell was a grown woman who preyed on vulnerable kids, a lawyer for the prosecution has told a court in New York.

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein in a photo released by the court. Picture: AFP/US District Court for the Southern District of New York

Ghislaine Maxwell was a grown woman who preyed on vulnerable kids, a lawyer for the prosecution has told a court in New York.

Alison Moe said that Maxwell delivered girls from troubled homes to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, in return for $30m. Ms Moe described her as a sophisticated and dangerous predator who used the same technique again and again.

The closing statement was illustrated with phone numbers for teenage masseurs in Maxwell’s “little black book”, sexually explicit drawings from the massage room in Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion and a photograph of her swimming naked with Epstein.

Ms Moe showed bank records suggesting that Epstein made three multi-million-dollar transfers to accounts in Maxwell’s name between 1999 and 2007. She said: “At this point, you ask yourself what was Maxwell doing for Epstein that was worth $US30.7m? Your common sense tells you that you don’t give someone more than $US30m unless they are giving you exactly what you want. What Epstein wanted was to touch under-age girls. When Maxwell took that money she knew what it was for, and now you know, don’t you? It was payment for committing terrible crimes with Jeffrey Epstein.”

The daughter of Robert Maxwell, the British press baron, is charged with enticing and transporting under-aged girls for illegal sexual acts between 1994 and 2004, as well as two charges of sex trafficking. She denies the charges.

The jury retired on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) and could deliver a verdict before Maxwell’s 60th birthday on Christmas Day.

Ms Moe told the court that Maxwell targeted the same sort of teenagers. “She targeted a girl whose father had just died,” she said. “She targeted a girl whose mother was an alcoholic. She targeted a girl with a single mum who was struggling to raise her daughters. Maxwell was a sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing. She ran the same playbook again and again and again.”

Ms Moe told the jury that she would offer “eight different reasons that you know Maxwell is guilty”. The first was that Maxwell knew exactly what she was doing when she recruited and groomed young girls for abuse because “Maxwell and Epstein were partners … partners in crime”.

She referred to an essay about their relationship found on a computer at Epstein’s home that appeared to be registered to Maxwell, in a document that she appeared to have created, declaring that they had been “a couple for 11 years” and were “great partners”. Moe said that Maxwell had written it.

“When you are with someone for 11 years you know what they like,” she said. “Epstein liked under-age girls … and Maxwell knew it.”

A new photograph of Maxwell and Epstein swimming naked together in a pool was shown to the court. Ms Moe said: “They are not alone. Someone else is taking the picture.” The court was also shown a photograph of Maxwell giving Epstein a foot massage with her breasts.

Ms Moe said that a part of Maxwell’s role in grooming girls for abuse was that she “made this kind of sexual behaviour feel normal and casual”. She said: “That’s exactly what we are looking at in these photographs.”

The accuser referred to as Jane recalled visiting and finding Maxwell topless by the pool. Ms Moe said: “You know that’s true because now you have seen Maxwell topless by the pool too.”

Four of Maxwell’s siblings – Isabel, Christine, Kevin and Ian – were in court for the first time to hear the closing statements, sitting at the front of the public gallery, a few feet from the lectern where Ms Moe was speaking. Christine and Kevin appeared to be taking notes.

Laura Menninger, for the defence, said that Maxwell was an innocent woman who had committed no crime and only found herself on trial because Epstein could not be brought to justice. He killed himself if prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial.

Maxwell’s accusers were motivated by money from a fund set up to compensate alleged Epstein victims, Ms Menninger said, and their stories were inconsistent and unconvincing. She added that Maxwell had been portrayed as “Cruella De Vil and the lady wears Prada” and was being blamed for the crimes of a man.

The Times